• Maximalism Is A Better Word

    From Ben Collver@21:1/5 to All on Wed May 1 16:58:22 2024
    Maximalism Is A Better Word
    ===========================
    This word "minimalism" has been rolling around in the back of my head
    for a couple of days now, ever since the e-mail that pointed out some contemporary usage. Call me paranoid, but I feel like I need to
    distance myself from that term now, since it seems to be bandied
    about in a different context, in the world beyond my focus.

    I don't want to be mistakenly associated with high-end hardware users
    who feel "minimalism" is somehow attached to Mac use, but with
    simpler icons or something superficial like that. And after someone
    else messaged me to point out minimal linux, which in turn pays
    homage to minimal mac, I am beginning to wonder if the word
    "minimalism" is what I represent at all. Neither of those sites is at
    all related to my own idea, and as a result, the term just seems...
    wrong.

    I might just follow suit with Computing Minimalists, who suggested
    that perhaps "maximalism" is a better way of describing it.

    In one manner of speaking, it seems to make sense: Getting the best
    available performance out of obsolete hardware, by relying on free
    and open source software that doesn't tax the system to the point of
    being unusable. And in turn, avoiding buying new computers, keeping
    old ones in service, and hopefully preserving a small slice of the
    environment as a consequence.

    Yeah, maximalism. I like that. :mrgreen:

    I don't knock the minimalists; I have no opinion one way or another
    if you think Gnome with a simple, straight-line icon set is minimal.
    I don't care if you are reducing your world to only one iPad, one
    iPod and one iMac, all with the same simple straight-line icon set.
    However you conduct your war on opulence in modern culture, I support
    your freedom and right to choose, probably even more than you do.

    In the mean time though, some of us will be carrying out our own
    little wars, pushing antiques and throwaway machines to perform in
    ways contemporary software and hardware manufacturers would probably
    prefer you didn't know about. Like writing blog posts from a
    14-year-old computer running modern, customized, bulletproof,
    rock-solid software that didn't cost a cent. >:)

    Yes, that is a much better word for it.

    From:
    <https://kmandla.wordpress.com/2010/05/05/maximalism-is-a-better-word/>

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  • From Stefan Ram@21:1/5 to Ben Collver on Wed May 1 17:36:08 2024
    Ben Collver <bencollver@tilde.pink> wrote or quoted:
    This word "minimalism" has been rolling around in the back of my head
    for a couple of days now, ever since the e-mail that pointed out some >contemporary usage.

    I ain't too sure what that usage pointed out in that e-mail
    was, but I did catch wind that Cal Newport dropped a book
    called "Digital Minimalism." From what I gathered, it's about
    dialing back our use of social media and electronic devices.

    Otherwise, here's the scoop on the traditional meaning from the
    20th century:

    - A school of abstract painting emphasing simplification of form

    - Use of the fewest and barest essentials in the arts or design

    - A school of contemporary music marked by extreme simplification

    At the end of the day, that term might be a tad on the
    nebulous side, 'cause certainly nothing is as complex as
    the creation of a minimal system!

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From candycanearter07@21:1/5 to Ben Collver on Wed May 1 19:50:08 2024
    Ben Collver <bencollver@tilde.pink> wrote at 16:58 this Wednesday (GMT):
    Maximalism Is A Better Word
    ===========================
    This word "minimalism" has been rolling around in the back of my head
    for a couple of days now, ever since the e-mail that pointed out some contemporary usage. Call me paranoid, but I feel like I need to
    distance myself from that term now, since it seems to be bandied
    about in a different context, in the world beyond my focus.

    I don't want to be mistakenly associated with high-end hardware users
    who feel "minimalism" is somehow attached to Mac use, but with
    simpler icons or something superficial like that. And after someone
    else messaged me to point out minimal linux, which in turn pays
    homage to minimal mac, I am beginning to wonder if the word
    "minimalism" is what I represent at all. Neither of those sites is at
    all related to my own idea, and as a result, the term just seems...
    wrong.

    I might just follow suit with Computing Minimalists, who suggested
    that perhaps "maximalism" is a better way of describing it.

    In one manner of speaking, it seems to make sense: Getting the best
    available performance out of obsolete hardware, by relying on free
    and open source software that doesn't tax the system to the point of
    being unusable. And in turn, avoiding buying new computers, keeping
    old ones in service, and hopefully preserving a small slice of the environment as a consequence.

    Yeah, maximalism. I like that. :mrgreen:

    I don't knock the minimalists; I have no opinion one way or another
    if you think Gnome with a simple, straight-line icon set is minimal.
    I don't care if you are reducing your world to only one iPad, one
    iPod and one iMac, all with the same simple straight-line icon set.
    However you conduct your war on opulence in modern culture, I support
    your freedom and right to choose, probably even more than you do.

    In the mean time though, some of us will be carrying out our own
    little wars, pushing antiques and throwaway machines to perform in
    ways contemporary software and hardware manufacturers would probably
    prefer you didn't know about. Like writing blog posts from a
    14-year-old computer running modern, customized, bulletproof,
    rock-solid software that didn't cost a cent. >:)

    Yes, that is a much better word for it.

    From:
    <https://kmandla.wordpress.com/2010/05/05/maximalism-is-a-better-word/>


    I agree with trying to get the most out of old stuff, but at some point
    it does feel restricting.
    --
    user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Computer Nerd Kev@21:1/5 to didn't on Thu May 2 08:41:42 2024
    Ben Collver <bencollver@tilde.pink> didn't write:

    In the mean time though, some of us will be carrying out our own
    little wars, pushing antiques and throwaway machines to perform in
    ways contemporary software and hardware manufacturers would probably
    prefer you didn't know about. Like writing blog posts from a
    14-year-old computer running modern, customized, bulletproof,
    rock-solid software that didn't cost a cent. >:)

    From:
    <https://kmandla.wordpress.com/2010/05/05/maximalism-is-a-better-word/>

    I've got that now-abandoned blog bookmarked on this computer which
    was of a similar age to the author's when that was written in 2010. Unfortunately their website has now adopted the obsession of
    redirecting HTTP to HTTPS, so that web browser can no longer load
    it directly.


    P.S. Mentioning the publication date of these reposted articles at
    the start would make them clearer.

    --
    __ __
    #_ < |\| |< _#

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  • From Lawrence D'Oliveiro@21:1/5 to Computer Nerd Kev on Wed May 1 22:59:41 2024
    On 2 May 2024 08:41:42 +1000, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:

    Unfortunately their website has now adopted the obsession of
    redirecting HTTP to HTTPS, so that web browser can no longer load
    it directly.

    Don’t fight HTTPS. It’s for your own good.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Computer Nerd Kev@21:1/5 to Lawrence D'Oliveiro on Fri May 3 07:59:51 2024
    Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
    On 2 May 2024 08:41:42 +1000, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:

    Unfortunately their website has now adopted the obsession of
    redirecting HTTP to HTTPS, so that web browser can no longer load
    it directly.

    Don't fight HTTPS. It's for your own good.

    I've been fighting it since it stopped being for my own good. Go on
    tell me how my life would be worse if I were to browse that blog
    over an unencrypted HTTP connection...

    --
    __ __
    #_ < |\| |< _#

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  • From Ian@21:1/5 to Computer Nerd Kev on Fri May 3 09:16:20 2024
    On 2024-05-02, Computer Nerd Kev <not@telling.you.invalid> wrote:
    Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
    On 2 May 2024 08:41:42 +1000, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:

    Unfortunately their website has now adopted the obsession of
    redirecting HTTP to HTTPS, so that web browser can no longer load
    it directly.

    Don't fight HTTPS. It's for your own good.

    I've been fighting it since it stopped being for my own good. Go on
    tell me how my life would be worse if I were to browse that blog
    over an unencrypted HTTP connection...

    https is about lock-in and security theatre. Go look how many root CAs
    are in your browser, and tell me none of them will ever issue certs to
    bad guys, accidentally or otherwise.

    I firmly believe Google has an endgame, with Chrome and https, of creating
    a closed content delivery system that is only accessible to paying (large) organisations. The internet will become cable TV, with pay-per-view.

    (Apply metallic millinery to taste)

    --
    Ian

    "Tamahome!!!" - "Miaka!!!"

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  • From Stefan Ram@21:1/5 to Ian on Fri May 3 11:49:29 2024
    Ian wrote or quoted:
    https is about lock-in and security theatre. Go look how many root CAs
    are in your browser, and tell me none of them will ever issue certs to
    bad guys, accidentally or otherwise.

    With HTTP, it's a cakewalk for the client-side to analyze traffic
    and suppress unwanted content. Insofar as HTTPS makes such measures
    more difficult, it can actually reduce security to a certain degree.

    Moreover, HTTPS could engender a false sense of security.
    (As you wrote.)

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Ben Collver@21:1/5 to Stefan Ram on Fri May 3 14:35:43 2024
    On 2024-05-03, Stefan Ram <ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de> wrote:
    With HTTP, it's a cakewalk for the client-side to analyze traffic
    and suppress unwanted content. Insofar as HTTPS makes such measures
    more difficult, it can actually reduce security to a certain degree.

    Moreover, HTTPS could engender a false sense of security.
    (As you wrote.)

    HTTPS has also been used for censorship, as the certificate authorities
    are centrally controlled, they can be used to take sites down.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From candycanearter07@21:1/5 to Ben Collver on Sat May 4 23:20:02 2024
    Ben Collver <bencollver@tilde.pink> wrote at 14:35 this Friday (GMT):
    On 2024-05-03, Stefan Ram <ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de> wrote:
    With HTTP, it's a cakewalk for the client-side to analyze traffic
    and suppress unwanted content. Insofar as HTTPS makes such measures
    more difficult, it can actually reduce security to a certain degree.

    Moreover, HTTPS could engender a false sense of security.
    (As you wrote.)

    HTTPS has also been used for censorship, as the certificate authorities
    are centrally controlled, they can be used to take sites down.


    There's a error code for "Unavailable for legal reasons". (code 451)
    --
    user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

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